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Starbury...what a joke!

Star(bury) of own show
With Dolan assist, Steph puts self above Knicks

By FRANK ISOLA
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Larry Brown and Stephon Marbury have yet to see eye-to-eye on anything.

The public stare-down between Larry Brown and Stephon Marbury - partially fueled by James Dolan's recent comments - is back on.

The Marbury-Brown relationship is the only thing capable of sinking lower than the Knicks' record, which is saying a lot. Marbury and Brown continue to take little digs at each other through the media - a Dolan pet peeve - with the only logical resolution being that one will have to go.

Whether it's Marbury or Brown who departs this summer and whether that decision is made by Dolan, Isiah Thomas or Brown is unclear. In the bizarro world of the Knicks, anything is possible, especially after Dolan gave Marbury a strong endorsement 12 days ago during his State of the Knicks address in Memphis.

Praising the Marbury years in New York, which Dolan actually did, ranks right up there with the Garden chairman declaring that winning isn't integral to the Knicks' strategy.

Dolan also expressed support for Thomas, his embattled team president, while sounding lukewarm about Brown, the Hall of Fame coach who has been to three NBA Finals and has rebuilt teams in San Antonio and Philadelphia.

When Dolan suggested that it's Brown's job to turn Eddy Curry from underachiever into All-Star, he appeared to be placing most of the blame for the season on Brown. Recent comments from Marbury suggest that the eternally dour point guard felt the same vibe.

"I went into this year trying to do something, to put myself in a situation where we can win, okay?" Marbury said on Saturday. "To help the team win games. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. So, what do I do now, as far as the way I play? I go back to playing like Stephon Marbury, aka Starbury. I haven't been Starbury this year. I've been some other dude this year."

You would be willing to cut Marbury some slack if he were still a senior at Lincoln High School. The fact that a 29-year-old man refers to himself in the third person as "Starbury" and believes that he's had a stellar career up until Brown arrived goes beyond ludicrous.

Is there no one in Marbury's circle of enablers to tell him how crazy he sounds?

It bears repeating that in the real world, Marbury has never gotten out of the first round of the playoffs and that his replacement in Phoenix, Steve Nash, won 62 games last season and captured MVP honors. We know Marbury has never been surrounded with talent. Yet, Nash is favored to repeat as MVP, winning with a lineup that now features Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, Eddie House and Tim Thomas.

Imagine the Suns' record if Starbury, and not Nash, was still their point guard. Imagine the Knicks' record with Nash instead of Marbury.

Brown just wants to imagine how much better his job and the locker room would become without Marbury.

Of course, Marbury dubbing himself "Starbury" isn't the most absurd thing to come out of his mouth. Long before Brown arrived, Marbury declared that he was the league's best point guard. Since making that astute observation, the Knicks have won 34 games. And lost 80.

Dolan deserves better. So do Thomas and Brown. One of the many problems former teammates had with Marbury was the idea that he was empowered by the organization. That changed when Brown showed up. But since Dolan spoke in Memphis, Marbury is being led to believe that he is part of the solution and not the cause of the problem.

Following a win over Milwaukee last week, Marbury said: "We're still trying to figure out what we're supposed to do on the basketball court."

Those comments came one day after Marbury elected to argue a non-foul call rather than play defense against Chicago's Ben Gordon. While Marbury protested, Gordon hit the go-ahead three-pointer.

On Saturday, Marbury complimented Charlotte rookie point guard Raymond Felton, saying, "He plays with so much confidence. (Bobcats coach Bernie) Bickerstaff, he does a great job of instilling that in his players. He allows players a lot of freedom, as you can see."

Ouch. Brown's most stinging comment about Marbury came when he said in December, "We don't have a head out there." Lately, he throws jabs at Marbury by praising Jalen Rose and Steve Francis as "ball movers."

Freedom, however. is coming soon to one of them. The Knicks, who play five straight at home starting tonight against Denver, have 21 games left. If Brown keeps his promise and doesn't walk away and Thomas keeps his promise to try to find Brown the players he wants, then Marbury is gone.

That is unless Dolan and Thomas share serious reservations about Brown and side with Marbury. Maybe Starbury knows something the rest of us do not.

I'm sick of people ripping on marbury, not just because im a fan, but why wouldnt this team be up for somehting new, they have won fricking 17 games, cmom. If larry brown wanted to suit up i would be ok with that if it could get us a win. I saw marbury put up 40 points and see what happenes, somebody needs to get to the line. Sometimes im a little nervous after stephon does or says somehting, like putting all alone 33 on his shoes while in new jersey but, theres nothing wrong with wanting to be yourself. Allen iverosn didnt want to change and look where that got him, a finals and scoring titles, mvp or somethign. nobody in the nba is used to players speaking from there heart like stephon marbury and iverson, off the subject these guys grew up with nothing, they play the way they have played their whole life. Allen scores at will, gets to the line, marbury goes right at you in the lane scores or dishes for the open shot. he doesnt pull off a fast break and set **** up, its ridiculous, his whole life he has played with the mentality ima go at your head and you not gunna stop me, so deal with it. I wasnt sure when brown came if it would work out, but marbury is who he is. If im making 100 million and am 29 years old, how is a another grown man gunna tell me how to play, it really doesnt matter, cause if the knicks were winning, you guys would be prasing him, the fact of the matter is nobody can guard him and he needs to bust on dudes heads and take no prisoners, he needs to say im a take this team on my shoulders and domionate a game like allen iverson. ex 47 and 12.

I'm sick of people ripping on marbury, not just because im a fan, but why wouldnt this team be up for somehting new, they have won fricking 17 games, cmom. If larry brown wanted to suit up i would be ok with that if it could get us a win. I saw marbury put up 40 points and see what happenes, somebody needs to get to the line. Sometimes im a little nervous after stephon does or says somehting, like putting all alone 33 on his shoes while in new jersey but, theres nothing wrong with wanting to be yourself. Allen iverosn didnt want to change and look where that got him, a finals and scoring titles, mvp or somethign. nobody in the nba is used to players speaking from there heart like stephon marbury and iverson, off the subject these guys grew up with nothing, they play the way they have played their whole life. Allen scores at will, gets to the line, marbury goes right at you in the lane scores or dishes for the open shot. he doesnt pull off a fast break and set s**t up, its ridiculous, his whole life he has played with the mentality ima go at your head and you not gunna stop me, so deal with it. I wasnt sure when brown came if it would work out, but marbury is who he is. If im making 100 million and am 29 years old, how is a another grown man gunna tell me how to play, it really doesnt matter, cause if the knicks were winning, you guys would be prasing him, the fact of the matter is nobody can guard him and he needs to bust on dudes heads and take no prisoners, he needs to say im a take this team on my shoulders and domionate a game like allen iverson. ex 47 and 12.

You absolutely have right!! Guys are always telling the same bullsh*t about Marbury, they always come with that stupid compare!!!

He cant win the games alone, thats true! but look at this season, he didnt play his game, he shared the ball, he was injured, he didnt shoot the ball..

I want the real Starbury, if Coach Brown cant change & let the players play their own way (I'm NOT saying that we dont have to set picks!) than fire him!! I Dont think that Brown is that good coach how people say..
The Pistons is good without him too!! And just look at the 2004 olympics & how he handled Carmelo, Dwayne & Lebron, they played sh*t because of the Coach's attitude..

and I hope we are able to get KG & reunite the big duo with Steph this summer!!

I'm sick of people ripping on marbury, not just because im a fan, but why wouldnt this team be up for somehting new, they have won fricking 17 games, cmom. If larry brown wanted to suit up i would be ok with that if it could get us a win. I saw marbury put up 40 points and see what happenes, somebody needs to get to the line. Sometimes im a little nervous after stephon does or says somehting, like putting all alone 33 on his shoes while in new jersey but, theres nothing wrong with wanting to be yourself. Allen iverosn didnt want to change and look where that got him, a finals and scoring titles, mvp or somethign. nobody in the nba is used to players speaking from there heart like stephon marbury and iverson, off the subject these guys grew up with nothing, they play the way they have played their whole life. Allen scores at will, gets to the line, marbury goes right at you in the lane scores or dishes for the open shot. he doesnt pull off a fast break and set s**t up, its ridiculous, his whole life he has played with the mentality ima go at your head and you not gunna stop me, so deal with it. I wasnt sure when brown came if it would work out, but marbury is who he is. If im making 100 million and am 29 years old, how is a another grown man gunna tell me how to play, it really doesnt matter, cause if the knicks were winning, you guys would be prasing him, the fact of the matter is nobody can guard him and he needs to bust on dudes heads and take no prisoners, he needs to say im a take this team on my shoulders and domionate a game like allen iverson. ex 47 and 12.

You absolutely have right!! Guys are always telling the same bullsh*t about Marbury, they always come with that stupid compare!!!

He cant win the games alone, thats true! but look at this season, he didnt play his game, he shared the ball, he was injured, he didnt shoot the ball..

I want the real Starbury, if Coach Brown cant change & let the players play their own way (I'm NOT saying that we dont have to set picks!) than fire him!! I Dont think that Brown is that good coach how people say..
The Pistons is good without him too!! And just look at the 2004 olympics & how he handled Carmelo, Dwayne & Lebron, they played sh*t because of the Coach's attitude..

and I hope we are able to get KG & reunite the big duo with Steph this summer!!

GO KNICKS!!!

It is called progress not regresses and that's what the Knicks will do, regress or stagnate if they let Marbury play the game the way he wants too. Marbury can not consistantly take a team on his back and produce wins. He just can't do it!!! He is a streaky shooter and an inconsistant defender, unlike Iverson or Bryant who are streaky shooters as well but ARE great defenders. What the Knicks are trying to do, at this point, is to see what they are going to do for the future. I say play the rookies more and let Frances get comfortable at the 1 (since he is the point guard for the Knicks now). I would play James more, if not for anything but to hope he can put a game together so his value raises a little. The Knicks are, and should be, in evaluation mode now and for the rest of the season.

i think its pathetic that all you haterz out there are blaiming steph for this season. the season will be over before u know it and larry brown still hasnt decided a starting 5. the rookies that were untradable are barely getting minutes. lil nate comes back from the all-star break after winning the dunk contest and gets thrown on the bench for the next 4 games. brown is starting people like malik rose and q. rich over players like francis and rookie sensation channing frye. play your best 5 players and let them get used to eachother. if brown were as smart as all his @$$kissers say he is then he would start...
pg- marbury
sg- francis
sf- j. rose
pf- frye
c- curry

and alternate butler, woods, m. rose, and mo taylor in the mix.
------------------------------------------------------------

if brown were that good a coach he would be able to look @ the talent around him and find a way for them to click. but to be starting players like malik rose, who's averaging 4 ppg, and q. rich, who is having his worst shooting season of his career, is completely mind boggling.

when the knicks were on a 6 game winning streak i bet a lot of you were praising marbury for his leadership. things were looking up for 2006. then wally sets a dirty pick that not only hurt marburys shoulder but did even more damge to the knicks record.

and for those who criticize marbury for calling himself starbury might as well criticize iverson for calling himself the answer or other players refering to themselves as their nickname. starbury led terror squad to the ebc championship 3 times in a row @ rucker park. and you can go ahead and say well street ball is different but on a nba court hes the only player other then oscar robertson to have a career average of @ least 20 points and 8 assists. and he may not know what its like to advance past the 1st round of the playoffs but those few years he made it there he was matched up against top seed teams.

in case u forgot larrys dream team took home the bronze medal. that was with the best of nba's young players. if he couldnt mold together the best of the best to beat manu ginobli's argentina or even carlos arroyo's puerto rico how the h3ll do you expect him to mold together a knicks franchise with the competition thats in the league today?

In fairness, Marbury can't be blamed for all the Knicks' woes. For the most part, he has tried to do what Brown has asked with little evidence any of it will result in success anytime soon. For most of this season, he has been a good soldier.
George Willis [Only registered and activated users can see links. ]

No one is blaming Marbury for the Knicks failure! I think the majority has stated that the Knicks couldn’t be a championship caliber team with Steph as the man. I think it is insane that the Steph supporters think that if you leave Marbury alone to run amok on the court, the Knicks would be a championship contender; that is just delusional! Steph’s problems are simple: He is an unintelligent basketball player and he is a 6’2” shooter who plays lackadaisical and inconsistent defense. Not only does he just want to shoot, he only has the ability to create for himself not for anyone else on the team. His game is like Kobe’s game but with out the Kobe! If you had Jordan in is prime flanking Steph and Jabaar at the center with Duncan at the 4, Steph would still run up the floor and drive to the rim, or throw up one of those quick 3 point shots before anyone else makes it back to grab a rebound. He might even kick out the ball once every 5th trip back if they were lucky. Steph is a victim of his talent and lack of talent, not to mention size (or lack of). Steph should be in Utah or Charlotte, teams that are so far away from a championship, he would be enough entertainment until they are ready to take the next step.

Not only does he just want to shoot, he only has the ability to create for himself not for anyone else on the team...

how can u say that about a man whos averaging over 8 assists per game throughout his career. hes averaging more assists per game throughout his career then steve nash. but yet he doesnt know how to create for anyone else on the team? he is the hardest pg to stop when he penetrates the lane because of his strength and speed. i agree that his defense does need work. but steph is a great passer. i think if he played his normal aggressive style just like he was during the knicks 6 game win streak things would look a lot brighter.

wow ... what kind of games do you guys watch ... are you sure marbury is a joke? ...

i dunno if all of you realize just cause he on the floor he is not feeling hundred percent ... marbury is not as healthy as all of you think he is ...

his 285 (around there) streak broken cause of a shoulder injury ...

try playing 285 games straight ... especially when your game is driving to the hoop breaking down the defense ... you think that he'd be healthy?

especially cause he supposed to be a allstar ... so there is so much smack being talked about him ... he not gonna force himself ... so he can hurt himself for good and end his career on a note like this ...

let the man do what he needs to do ...

hes been the reason why the knicks even have 17 wins so far....

there is not one game where marbury didnt do anything to contribute to the win ...

Marbury is averaging for his career; 20.3 point per game and 8.2 assists per game. He will probably end his career with a double, double and still he is a bad guy to have on your team! All the people that love Marbury, I suspect are fairly young and haven't really seen what a true NBA allstar point guard looks like and acts on the court (except for the like of Jason Kidd). Marbury's game is missing an intangable. While he puts up assist numbers, he doesn't seem to make the players around him better, like a Jason Kidd or Stockton did. Marbury wants to be a scoring machine, but teams do not need a 6' 2' scorer that doesn't play D! If Marbury made half the money he makes, he might be more in demand because he could be a guy that can give a spark off the bench or a change of pace guy. He is talented but his talent is not what most teams need. Not teams that are trying to make a championship run. Like I said, he would be good in a city where they just care about putting seats in the arena not really wining.

he would be good in a city where they just care about putting seats in the arena not really wining.

And that would be the NY knicks....
Do not forget that Dolan is not a basketball fan. He is a business man who needs to make his investors happy.
How do you do that?
His ultimate goal is to create a competitive, entertaining team that sells seats.
If this team happens to win a championship then so be it....

Why do you think in the Dolan's meeting with the team, he publicly praised Marbury? Because he knows how much revenue he brought back to the NYK franchise.
Why do you think Dolan is most upset with LB for not producing because the $10mil per season investment is not paying dividends....

It's all about the money....This is New York.

Where there is hope, there can be faith
Where there is faith, miracles can occur

And that would be the NY knicks....
Do not forget that Dolan is not a basketball fan. He is a business man who needs to make his investors happy.
How do you do that?
His ultimate goal is to create a competitive, entertaining team that sells seats.
If this team happens to win a championship then so be it....
It's all about the money....This is New York.

I agree that in NY it IS all about the money...BUT if Dolan's ultimate goal is to create a competitive, entertaining team that sells seats, then he's failed to do so and this responsibility lies solely on his shoulders. Dolan is the guy writing the checks and signing off on the trades. The team that Isaiah has put together is neither competitive nor entertaining, but Dolan has continued to allow Isaiah to do so. No one can really be certain that any other GM could've done a better job than Isaiah b/c NY has always been a difficult situation to come into. Our win now mentality has always made it difficult for us to go through a rebuilding period. Financially speaking, Dolan may take a hit for few years but if the team is rebuilt properly then it could end up being more lucrative in the long run.

Even though we never won a championship, the late 80's early 90's was great b/c we were always competitive and entertaining. NY was able to get to that point by going through a rebuilding period during the early 80's. We got Ewing and surrounded him with talent. The only way for us to get back to that type of environment is to go through a rebuilding mode again. We need to get a young player that we can make our foundation and build upon. IF we do finally go through a makeover, Marbury should be the first to go. Marbury isn't a player that you can build a foundation on. He will never mean to NY what Ewing meant to us.

Marbury is averaging for his career; 20.3 point per game and 8.2 assists per game. He will probably end his career with a double, double and still he is a bad guy to have on your team! All the people that love Marbury, I suspect are fairly young and haven't really seen what a true NBA allstar point guard looks like and acts on the court (except for the like of Jason Kidd). Marbury's game is missing an intangable. While he puts up assist numbers, he doesn't seem to make the players around him better, like a Jason Kidd or Stockton did. Marbury wants to be a scoring machine, but teams do not need a 6' 2' scorer that doesn't play D! If Marbury made half the money he makes, he might be more in demand because he could be a guy that can give a spark off the bench or a change of pace guy. He is talented but his talent is not what most teams need. Not teams that are trying to make a championship run. Like I said, he would be good in a city where they just care about putting seats in the arena not really wining.

Marbury is one of the best defenders in our team! (even if they fight wit Brown, Larry already told this) You dont know nothing about these whole stuff but you have an opinion, its okay..